by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady asked:
What kinds of things cause excessive ear wax to build up?
I can think of 3 reasons for ear wax build-up.
1. In my book “Ototoxic Drugs Exposed” I list 4 drugs that have the side effect of causing excess ear wax production. If you are taking any of these drugs, that could be the reason for your excessive ear wax. These drugs are Acitretin, Infliximab, Ritonavir and Rofecoxib.
2. For some people, just wearing hearing aids (either in-the-ear hearing aids, or behind-the-ear aids with ear molds can cause your body to really step up the production of ear wax. In addition, hearing aids/ear molds prevent this wax from naturally working its way out, and it fact, push it further down the ear canal.
3. You may be lacking in essential fatty acids (EFAs). People that are deficient in certain essential fatty acids can have either excessive ear wax or dry, flaky ears. Apparently the essential fatty acids help control ear canal inflammation. In this case, it is the inflammation that is responsible for the excessive ear wax.
According to Dr. Andrew Rubman, ND, the director of the, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines in CT, taking one tablespoon of flax oil or 2,000 mg of fish oil daily corrects most EFA deficiencies. (Source: Bottom Line Secrets Newsletter, May 7, 2008.)
To start, I’d like to thank you for your informative website.
My question for you relates specifically to build of up ear wax – can excessive wax production be caused by hearing aids that go deeper in the canal? I have been wearing hearing aids for 6.5 years now and have only had an issue with wax in the last few months.
I started out with Widex aids that, while in the ear, did not go in very deep. I wore them successfully for over 4 years. I then heard about Lyric and decided to try them – I wore them for 7 months, absolutely loved the sound, but gave up as I could never get a comfortable fit in my left ear. I then reverted to my old aids for a while and then started wearing in the ear, micro Phonak aids.
I’ve been wearing the micro aids now since May of last year. I was a regular visitor back to my audiologist as the fit on the left ear was an ongoing problem. In June of this year I thought something had gone wrong with the aids only to realise that it was a problem with my ears – particularly the right ear. It seemed to come on very quickly and turned out to be a wax build up. This was the first time this ever had happened to me. My audiologist removed it and I thought all would be well. That was June. It happened again in the middle of August – I had it removed again. Then again in the third week of September – another removal. And now this week again – another seemingly sudden loss. My job entails meeting people face to face and presenting and a sudden onset like this is a real problem for me.
I go back to my audiologist again tomorrow – I understand that most people would need wax removal at most every 6 months, typically a lot less often. My record so far is not good and not viable long term.
I have been told age contributes – more dead skin cells etc – I am 55. I was guilty of using a cotton bud for itch, and that was probably a contributory factor on the first occasion, but not since. I was advised to use oil once or twice a week – that made things worse. My wax is not hard – more mushy. On my last visit I was advised to use water when in the shower and the hair dryer to dry. This seemed to be working very well. Until two days ago I really believed I had found a solution. Now I’m just home from a meeting with clients that was so difficult to get through – my right ear is completely blocked, my left kept coming and going.
The only change I can see in my hearing aid history is that the micro aids going deeper into the canal are contributing to the excessive production of wax. Does this make sense? Would it be a good idea for me to revert to the original style of aids I wore?
Hi Siobhán:
When you’ve been able to successfully wear hearing aids for several years without excess wax build up, and now you have excessive wax production, you want to find the reason.
You suspect that it is because your new hearing aids sit much deeper in your ear canal. That might be the case and you can pursue it further, although I don’t really think this is the prime cause. You see, the first half of your ear canal contains the wax glands. Down deep in the last half of your ear canal there are no wax glands.
What I think is the cause of your excess wax build up is that your body is having a reaction to the material of your new hearing aids. So the first thing I’d check is whether the material your new hearing aids are made out of is the same as the material your old ones were made from. Some people are allergic to, or have reactions to certain materials and not others. I know this happened to me in the past with ear molds. This may be your problem.
Another possibility is that you might have an infection in your ear canals that is causing the excess wax build up–especially because it is very thin and mushy wax. If this is the case you might want to wash your ears out each day with a solution of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar–typically a 50-50 mix. This can kill off any “bad guys” in your ear canals. Note: don’t do this if you have holes in your eardrums, but if your eardrums are health, this should not Hurt you at all.
If you do have an ear canal infection, at the same time, you need to sterilize your hearing aids each day so you don’t re-infect your ear canals when you put your hearing aids on each morning. An easy way to do this is to get the Global Dry and Store with ultraviolet light. When you put your aids in the Dry and Store each evening, the ultraviolet light comes on for 20 minutes or so and sterilizes your hearing aids. You can get the Dry an Store at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/dry-and-store/ .
So there’s some ideas. Let me know what worked for you.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you so much for your help Neil. It turns out I do have an infection – in both ears. I got drops for that yesterday and also had my ears micro suctioned. The audiologist actually said he thought that what he removed first might not have been wax, rather oxidised pus from the infection. So I’m sorted short term, but obviously need a longer term solution.
Thanks for your other advice re sterilisation and the material the aids are made from – I will look into both further.
Regards
Siobhán